Joshua 17

1 [This is a list of] the land that was allotted to the tribe of Manasseh. Manasseh’s oldest son was Makir and his grandson was Gilead. Makir’s descendants were great warriors, so the lands in the Gilead and Bashan regions were allotted to their clan.

And the borders of the tribe of the children of Manasse, (for he [was] the firstborn of Joseph, ) [assigned] to Machir the firstborn of Manasse the father of Galaad, for he was a warrior, [were] in the land of Galaad and of Basan.

2 Land was also allotted to the other clans of the tribe of Manasseh: The clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida.

And there was [land] assigned to the other sons of Manasse according to their families; to the sons of Jezi, and to the sons of Kelez, and to the sons of Jeziel, and to the sons of Sychem, and to the sons of Symarim, and to the sons of Opher: these [are] the males according to their families.

3 Hepher’s son Zelophehad had no sons, but he had five daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

And Salpaad the sons of Opher had no sons but daughters: and these [are] the names of the daughters of Salpaad; Maala, and Nua, and Egla, and Melcha, and Thersa.

4 They went to Eleazar the Supreme Priest, and to Joshua and to the other Israeli leaders. They said, “[We want you to give us some land, because] Yahweh told Moses that he should give to us some land, just like you gave to the men.” So Eleazar did what Yahweh had commanded, and he allotted to them some land, just like he allotted to their uncles.

And they stood before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua, and before the rulers, saying, God gave a charge by the hand of Moses, to give us an inheritance in the midst of our brethren: so there was given to them by the command of the Lord an inheritance amongst the brethren of their father.

5 So the tribe of Manasseh eventually had ten sections [of land west of the Jordan River] and [two sections, ] Gilead and Bashan, on the east side of the Jordan [River].

And their lot fell [to them] from Anassa, and [to the] plain of Labec of the land of Galaad, which is beyond Jordan.

6 So those female descendants of Manasseh also were allotted land [on the west side of the river] just like the men were allotted. The other parts of the Gilead area were allotted to the male descendants of Manasseh.

For the daughters of the sons of Manasse inherited a portion in the midst of their brethren, and the land of Galaad was assigned to the remainder of the sons of Manasse.

7 The land allotted to the tribe of Manasseh was between the land where the tribe of Asher lives and Michmethath [town], near Shechem [city]. The border extended south to the Tappuah Spring.

And the borders of the sons of Manasse were Delanath, which is before the sons of Anath, and it proceeds to the borders [even] to Jamin and Jassib to the fountain of Thaphthoth.

8 The land near the Tappuah area belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah, which was at the border of the land that was allotted to the tribe of Manasseh, was allotted to the tribe of Ephraim.

It shall belong to Manasse, and Thapheth on the borders of Manasse [shall belong] to the sons of Ephraim.

9 The border [of the land allotted to the tribe of Manasseh] extended south to Kanah Gorge. From there it extended [west] along the north side of the gorge and ended at the [Mediterranean] Sea.

And the borders shall go down to the valley of Carana southward by the valley of Jariel, ([there is] a turpentine tree [belonging] to Ephraim between [that and] the city of Manasse: ) and the borders of Manasse [are] northward to the brook; and the sea shall be its termination.

10 The land on the south side of the gorge belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, and the land on the north side belonged to the tribe of Manasseh. The western border of the land allotted to the tribe of Manasseh was the [Mediterranean] Sea. To the north, the border of their land extended from the land allotted to the tribe of Asher [at the northwest] to the land allotted to the tribe of Issachar [at the northeast.]

Southward [the land belongs] to Ephraim, and northward to Manasse; and the sea shall be their cost; and northward they shall border upon Aseb, and eastward upon Issachar.

11 But there are cities inside the area allotted to the tribes of Issachar and Asher. Those cities, along with their surrounding villages, were allotted to people from the tribe of Manasseh. These cities are Beth-Shan, Ibleam, Dor (which is also named Naphoth-Dor, ) Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo.

And Manasses shall have in [the portion of] Issachar and Aser Baethsan and their villages, and the inhabitants of Dor, and its villages, and the inhabitants of Mageddo, and its villages, and the third part of Mapheta, and its villages.

12 The men of the tribe of Manasseh were not able to force the people who lived in those cities to leave, so the people of the Canaan people-group continued to live in those cities.

And the sons of Manasse were not able to destroy these cities; and the Chananite began to dwell in that land.

13 But [years later] when the Israelis became better [warriors], they forced the Canaan people-group to work for them as slaves, although they did not force them to leave the land.

And it came to pass that when the children of Israel were strong, they made the Chananites subject, but they did not utterly destroy them.

14 The people of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh said to Joshua, “You allotted to us only one area of land, but there are a lot of us. Yahweh has blessed us very much [with the result that our tribe has grown very large]. So why did you give us only a small part of the land [RHQ]?”

And the sons of Joseph answered Joshua, saying, Therefore have you caused us to inherit one inheritance, and one line? whereas I am a great people, and God has blessed me.

15 Joshua replied to them, “[I agree that] you do not have enough land in the hilly area of the tribe of Ephraim. So, since you have a lot of people, I will allot more land to you, in the hilly region. But you will have to [cut down the trees] in the forest [and] make a place for yourselves in the land where the Periz and Repha people-groups live.”

And Joshua said to them, If you be a great people, go up to the forest, and clear [the land] for yourself, If mount Ephraim be too little for you.

16 The people of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh replied, “It is true that the land in the hilly area is not big enough for us, but the Canaan people-group who live in the lowlands, in Beth-Shan and the surrounding villages in that area, and in the Jezreel Valley, have iron chariots, [so we will not be able to defeat them]!”

And they said, The mount of Ephraim does not please us, and the Chananite dwelling in it in Baethsan, and in its villages, [and] in the valley of Jezrael, has choice cavalry and iron.

17 Joshua replied to them, “Your tribe is very numerous and very powerful. So I will allot more land for you in the hilly area,

And Joshua said to the sons of Joseph, If you are a great people, and have great strength, you shall not have [only] one inheritance.

18 but you will have to cut down the trees in order to make a place for you to live. [It is true that] the Canaan people-group are strong and have iron chariots, but you will be able to force them to leave that valley.”

For you shall have the wood, for there is a wood, and you shall clear it, and [the land] shall be your; even when you shall have utterly destroyed the Chananite, for he has chosen cavalry; yet you are stronger than he.